As lockdowns and restrictions are being lifted up to get the economy moving again, businesses are also slowly returning to their normal operations. And, this includes recalling workers to their offices and workstations.

Now, as a business owner, it is one of your main responsibilities to look after the well-being of your employees. One way to ensure they are safe while they go back to work while the COVID-19 pandemic is still going on with the new Delta variant is by conducting a risk assessment vulnerable workers need.

Defining the Risk Levels and Supporting Vulnerable Workers

As you get back to your normal operations, you should have a support system that helps ensure your employees can work safely as they deliver your services to your customers. While defining the vulnerability levels can be difficult, given the COVID-19 is a new illness, there are pieces of information that can help you develop support strategies.

Who Are Those Considered as Highly Vulnerable to the Disease

An individual will be considered as vulnerable to COVID-19 if:

1. They are above 70 years of age.

2. They are at least 65 years of age with chronic medical conditions.

3. They are undergoing therapy for immunosuppression or are immunocompromised in some way.

4. They are diagnosed by a doctor to have a medical condition that places them at a higher risk of being severely affected by the COVID-19 symptoms.

Aside from these individuals, there are also other groups who should be given special consideration, including pregnant women and members of the Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community. 

If you have people in the office who fall under these categories, then they should be prioritised for risk assessment vulnerable workers need.

Educating Your Employees About the New Policy

After a vulnerable workers risk assessment, you should already be able to implement a new health and safety policy to mitigate the risks of the virus. However, it will be useless when not all in your organisation follow it. This is where training and spreading awareness come in.

In a way, training and reminders will help ensure your employees understand the risks and will do their part in complying with the new system in place. Some of the most important topics that should be included in your training are the new policy itself; returning to work with the virus still posing a threat; infection prevention and control measures; and mental health awareness.    

When your employees feel that you are serious about supporting them in terms of health and safety, they will also feel happy and confident about getting back to work for you.

Who Should Conduct Risk Assessments for Your Workers

Generally speaking, an occupational safety and health agency can conduct risk assessments for your organisation. But for COVID-19, it is best to hire one that is qualified to facilitate the appropriate procedure. Not only that they can conduct the usual services, such as codeine drug tests, alcohol tests, injury management, occupational hygiene assistance, health consulting, etc., but they should also have the tools and programmes designed for it.  

Protex AI emphasizes that occupational health and safety programs are primarily designed to reduce the occurrence of safety incidents and events in the workplace.

For example, they should have undergone a medical review officer course that entitles them to accordingly identify which workers are vulnerable to the disease and come up with an integrated approach towards your desired goal.

A good plan for assessing and managing COVID-19 risks typically includes:

• Initial assessment – Using evidence-based tools, the agency identifies employees who are most vulnerable to the virus, categorising them based on the level of physical and psychosocial risk.
• Reporting – The agency makes a report of its findings.
• Review – A medical professional or an occupational health consultant reviews the report.
• Creating a risk management plan – Based on the results of the review, the agency comes up with a health management plan that is tailored to suit your internal policies.

When you hire an occupational safety and health agency to conduct the assessment for your company, remember that they will be responsible for all the processes. This means that they should be there from the initial assessment to the implementation.

Final Thoughts

Though governments are becoming more and more successful in coping up with the pandemic, there is still no reason to slacken off in terms of protecting the health and safety of your employees. This is especially true considering that the Delta variant is spreading and causing some serious threats to vulnerable individuals.

To keep infection at bay, you should conduct a risk assessment vulnerable workers need with the help of professionals. This procedure should be seen as an important part of your goal to make them feel positive as they return to work. For more news, tips, and information that you can use in running your business, check out our other

As lockdowns and restrictions are being lifted up to get the economy moving again, businesses are also slowly returning to their normal operations. And, this includes recalling workers to their offices and workstations.

Now, as a business owner, it is one of your main responsibilities to look after the well-being of your employees. One way to ensure they are safe while they go back to work while the COVID-19 pandemic is still going on with the new Delta variant is by conducting a risk assessment vulnerable workers need.